01x04 - "He in whose hands is dominion"

[bunniefuu]

We're all brothers here.
Oh!

What our community needs now
more than ever is a school.

We'll teach subjects
often frowned upon.

I cannot vote for a school
that teaches music and dance.

If Batul was to step aside
from being VP,

would you consider
voting for the school?

You know how we talked about
me moving out?

Move out?

You did.

Later. Later.
Seriously?

And for what did I run? Hm?

To make a home over there?

Make a family?

You can't have children?

Who knows what Allah
wills for me in the future?

So tell them Islam
is an egalitarian faith.

The Holy Koran teaches that

women and men hold the same capacity
for moral agency.

OK, but then she'll say 'Taliban',

and her point's proven.

Yeah, good for her.

That's not your faith
or your practice.

Ya rab.

She's not Beyonce.
[LAUGHS]

Did you sleep OK?

And the "Aussies" have decided

that because I'm a Muslim woman
who wants to wear the hijab,

I'm subconsciously oppressed.

Essentially, the mainstream wants us

to present our credentials
on feminism above our faith.

Then it's OK to be Muslim.

But isn't it also a privilege?

Just look at all these questions.

The comments, the sneers.

Take these as opportunities

to dwell on your own relationship
with the Almighty.

Listen to him,

for he knows who you are.

OK.

Dad bought me a sewing machine.

Your dad's OK with you going
to TAFE, not university?

Yeah, well, next it'll be,
"Are you sure you are studying?

"I don't hear any sewing."

Sheikh Mohammad approving
a career in fashion?

Mmm.

Your mum would have laughed.

There's a competition
that the course runs,

and the winners get to be part of
the student show at fashion week.

Paris Fashion Week?!

Sydney.
Oh.

But a first year's never made it
past the first round.

Ya rab.

Where is that overinflated
Al-Hamedi ambition?

Of course you'll win!

Yeah.

Swim, Yusuf. Yalla!
Come on.

Yeah, Yusuf. Yalla mom. Go.

Yay!

GIRL: Yusuf, stop!

May I have a word with you,
please, Sheikhna?

Yes, of course.

I'm organising
a meeting with the council

to start the development process.

I hope you would consider
to attend with me.

I am not here to speak about
our differences, Sheikhna.

I'm purely here
out of concern as a father.

Father?

Your son. He was a credit to you
at the ambassador's dinner.

Thank you.
But later...

...I saw him
in the company of others.

Others?

He said, uh,
the men worked with him,

but... I know their kind.

The only work they do
is in the darkness.

Thank you for telling me.

You're welcome.

MAN: [ON PHONE] Isa.

What?
Did you think I wouldn't notice?

Why did you wire $12,000 from
the mosque account a few nights ago?

Are you in trouble?

I know small businesses
are difficult.

I just wish you'd come to me first.

Yeah, always assume
the worst about me.

You give me no other option!

Isa!

The mosque is not your bank account.

I'm the VP.

You'll have to explain this to Baba.

Let's go, then.

Dragging me here from work!
You have nothing to say for yourself.

Huh? Wasting my time.
Alright? Just stop.

Wasting Baba's time.
Just stop.

The two of you!

He shouldn't have access
to the account.

I'm in charge of the finances.

Whilst my sister sits around

imagining me
stealing from the mosque,

you know what I was actually doing?

Out in the real world defending her.

At the ambassador's dinner,

Sheikh Shaaker told me
he'd vote for your school.

More - he'd let everything you want
go through the committee,

if Batul was removed as VP.

He told you that?

You thought
I'd actually turn on my sister.

I wonder what gave him that idea.

Batul,

enough.

Of course, Baba.

I accept your apology.

You too, Isa.

You should have told me about...
Us.

...Sheikh Shaaker...
Us!

...us about Sheikh Shaaker

the night it happened.

It was an insulting proposition

and I really didn't think
it was a big deal.

Don't think, son.

I need you to tell me everything.

The money was for a charity in Iraq.

Baital Marhaba.
Remember we spoke about it?

I wasn't told about that.
Remember we spoke about it, Dad?

Uh...
OK.

At the ambassador's, I ran
into this woman from an NGO

and then I realised
I hadn't sent them the money.

From now on, Isa,

stay out of the account.

You are not on the committee.

Him doing this undermines me.

Batul,
this suspicion of your brother

is polluting your mind,
as well as your heart.

Would you give us a moment alone?

Did you enjoy yourself
at the ambassador's?

Mainly stuck around with
Sheikh Shaaker, as you asked.

Mm.

So... you didn't get to
talk to many people.

But... you did catch up
with some work friends, huh?

What a happy coincidence.

The same night that
you withdrew the mosque money...

...you were seen talking with men
that you say you do business with.

Dad... what are you trying to...

I think you know
what I'm asking you.

Oh, yeah.

The money was for charity.

And that's the truth.

Alaikum salaam. Alaikum salaam.

[SPEAKS ARABIC]

[MURMURS PRAYER]

Hi.

Hey.

Come, come.
What?

Watch.

Watch her.

You'll figure it out.

You're great.

sh*t.

To speak like that
in the house of Allah! Tsk.

Who's that for?

Not you.

Mm.

Mmm!

Good?
Yeah, yeah.

So, Baba...
Yeah.

I've been thinking about how to make
the mosque more relevant for women.

It's relevant for everyone.

There's this opportunity.

A prestigious competition.

For fashion.
For designing.

It's a big deal.
It launches careers.

Uh-huh.

Because fashion designing
will be my career.

And I want to display
my designs in style,

which is why I want to photograph
my work in a truly Islamic setting.

It would elevate the value and
make it feel like high-end fashion.

Oh...

...you want a photoshoot
in my mosque?

I don't think so, darling.

It'd be respectful. It's me.

[SIGHS] I cannot allow
a sacred place to be used this way

simply because you are family.

That's not fair.

[SPEAKS ARABIC]

If Isa asked to wash cars
in the carpark, I will say no too.

We must be different.

Above reproach.

Imam Ali -

peace be upon him -

told his family,
"No favour shall..."

Don't recycle stories with me.

Please try to understand.

Stop trying to sheikh me.

I'm the child you never made
vice president, alright?

[ARABIC MUSIC PLAYS]

Speak to your father.

Whatever deal he thinks
he has with Abu Zuhayr

could be light as a feather.

There was a lot of shisha talk today.

Oh, well... Ammu,
there's something else.

When we left Iraq - I've been trying
to piece it together

but it was so rushed -

um, did they take everything
from you and Dad?

Uh... a supplier I'm working with,
he's from there.

Your father was stripped
of his ownership.

I was able to at least sell my shop -

for far less than its value,
of course.

Salaam alaikum.
OTHERS: Alaikum salaam.

Your mother, though, she was able
to keep her family home -

for a while, at least.

She might have sold it
to buy the flat in Baghdad

when she was dreaming of
returning there.

Yeah.

My memories... There's so many
things I don't know.

You remember nothing?
Little.

Like your first family
before the orphanage?

They left me there
and I don't need to know why.

My family is Muhammad
and Khadija Al-Hamedi.

This is lovely.

A family sharing a meal.

Ruling on how we eat now?

What's your problem?

Well, he's hijacked our lives
and acts like the king,

judging us from his castle.

Control your tantrum, habibchi.

So, the BBC wish to interview me.

I'm a voice for progressive Islam.

That's great.

[SPEAKS ARABIC]
They want to include you too, Batul.

Seriously? Why?

Yay!
Yeah.

They want to interview both of us,
because...

Because you appointed
your eldest daughter

vice president of the mosque
where you were elected.

Baba, I don't want to be a poster
child for the media to prod.

Do it without me.
I agree.

What a surprise.

I'm agreeing with YOU.

Don't try and talk him out of it, sister.

He's just going to make you
do what he wants.

It's a profile. In-depth piece.

It's good for us.

We are meant to be a team.

Unilateral decision made. Nice.

Yeah. So different to how
every other sheikh does it.

Really blazing a path there.

I know that you are upset,
but you are being rude.

I know I am, but what are you?

[CHUCKLES QUIETLY]

She shouldn't be speaking
like that to you.

Baba...

Mm?

The interview,
it should just be you.

You're the sheikh.

Your choice made me.

My life is not that interesting.

Hello.

Mm-hm.

Huh.

Ah, Toota.

"We" don't get jabbed and prodded
and become a petri dish.

...viable.

I just need some time
and some space to be grumpy.

OK?

In the name of Allah,
please give me that.

Listen...

Me staying here...

I should have discussed it with you
before it happened.

Same with when I left.

I'm sorry for that.

Would you wear it?

Mm! Yeah.

I could see many women
would love that. Yeah.

[SPEAKS ARABIC]

I need you to come with me.

Have you suffered a miscarriage?

Two years ago.

It doesn't necessarily indicate
that you'll have difficulty

carrying to term.

Both you and your husband are,
physiologically speaking, older.

It is sensible
that you're looking at IVF.

She's in her 30s.

The hormones that we give you

will increase the amount of eggs
that you produce,

which means more for us to collect.

How exactly do you collect them?

A needle is passed through
the vaginal wall to each ovary.

It just takes about


We fertilise your eggs
with your husband's sperm

in our on-site lab,

and then they grow.

Then we select the best embryo
for transfer.

YOU select my child?

Yeah.

[WHISPERS PRAYER]

[CONTINUES WHISPERING PRAYER]

Actually, I'm a great admirer
of public broadcasting

and the BBC in particular.

Inspiration? Well,
I wouldn't call myself that.

A...

Abu Zuhayr.

[BOTH GREET EACH OTHER IN ARABIC]

Salaam alaikum.
Alaikum salaam.

Ah?

Oh.

Can you put in extra breadmeats?
No.

Come on, please. I like the crunch.

You like the crunch?

Hello!
Habibi.

Hello.
Hello.

[GASPS]
Don't say anything.

What are you guys up to?

Very nefarious things.

Jamila's doing me a favour.

OK. Cool.

Thank you, Hindy.

"Hindy".

[CLATTERING, MAN GROANS]
Hang on.

Are you OK, my friend?
Yeah.

I'm fine, I think.
It's all good. All good.

Are you OK? What happened?
Yeah, yeah. Just tripped.

Do you need a doctor?
You might have a concussion.

No. I'm... I'm fine.

I'm made of tougher stuff.

Are you sure?

Nadir.

Thank you. I'm fine.
No worries.

Thanks very much.
Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm gonna stay and talk
with you a while, alright,

to make sure you stay awake
like the doctor said.

It's OK. I'll be fine.

I'll come.
Hind would be pissed if I didn't.

She's a very good girl, Hind.

Yeah.
Very good.

You see her more than her beauty.

She's the best one in her family.

But you know that.

Not that any one of them would ever
think you are good enough for her.

Not one of them. Hypocrites.

Healthy body, healthy mind, huh?

Mm-hm.

You...
Baba...

Sorry. Yeah.

We have been out of sync lately.
[CHUCKLES]

But you must do the interview too.

If that's what you need.

Not the BBC, local Arab radio.

Our community
is our most important audience.

You should be the one
telling people Islam is inclusive

and women are equal.

Do you think an interview
will change people's minds?

Our community needs to hear
how its dream fits together.

The pool, the youth outreach,

my philosophy of the school,

and why I need you
as my vice president.

But can you trust that journalist?

I won the election,
so she was wrong.

Let's see how her audience
will react to that.

[CHUCKLES]

Continue reaching for
your visions, Baba,

and I will nudge you
whenever you need.

There's, um...
I wanted to speak to you...

What?
...as my sheikh as well.

It's about Bilal and I.

We want children, but we haven't...

Children can come
in many different ways.

Think of how your brother
came into our family.

We want our own children.

He raised IVF.

I just don't think
it's right for me.

IVF is the only thing the entire
Islamic world agrees upon.

It's a process which helps us
meet our duty when nature can't.

I'm not sure intervening
is what Allah wants.

If Allah wanted it to be,
won't he make it happen?

You asked for guidance.

Husbands and wives
are meant to make families.

Perhaps I am to serve another way.

Is this why you wanted
to be vice president?

Why must I do everything
that men deem acceptable

in order to become pregnant?

Am I not entitled to revere Allah
in my own way, as I decide?

Such anger.

Do you not want a child?

I do, but I don't want to be
a test tube in order to have one.

I have more to offer, Baba.
More than fertility.

HIND: OK, so watch out for pins.

I'm just going to pin this.

Is it OK?
OK.

Oh... Is it tight?
No, that's... that's secure.

That's good.
OK.

OK. Whew!

Yeah, that's good, but...

I turn around?
Yeah.

[CAMERA CLICKS]

OK, just exhale, like... Relax.

Alright. [LAUGHS]

Come.

Take this.

[CAMERA CLICKS]
Oh, that is beautiful.

Oh!

[CAMERA CLICKS]

That's so good!

Give me like a... over the...

[CAMERA CLICKS]
Yeah.

Bring your hand
over your shoulder there.

Got it?
[CAMERA CLICKS]

[CHEERS, LAUGHS]

We did it! We're so good!
[CHEERS]

[EXUBERANT, POWERFUL MUSIC]

Ahh!

Ah, thank you.

Mmm.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Dad lied about Mum's will.

She left me out of it.

Like, totally out of it.

Left everything to her children -
Batul and Hind.

Makes me question if she ever
loved me, you know?

Your heart's so big, Isa,
people forget how fragile it is.

But, you know, I don't think
it's about you.

It's her will.

Yeah, but the world can be so small
for a woman,

especially once she marries.

But Dad's not like that.

Even still, she didn't know the men
your sisters would marry.

Yeah, I know.
No, you don't know.

I mean, you can't know.

This freedom that you have
to move through the world,

it means you're blind to it.

But can you see that...

...maybe, probably, her choice...

...had nothing to do with
her love for you.

She did love you, Isa.

This is us, Isa.

Yeah.

We're friends.

Yeah.

[CAR DOOR CLOSES]

[SIGHS]

Oh, hey.

Yusuf got up twice.

He wanted you.
Oh, I'm sorry.

I had to help Hind pack up.

Oh, it's a present from Hind.

She thought it looked good on me.

Hind. You don't need her advice.

You can still be beautiful
when you try.

[MUFFLED SOUNDS FROM HEADPHONES]

[DIALLING]

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

Sorry to be bothering you, but...
You're no bother, sister.

Please, tell me what's on your mind.

There's a problem, sister,
that only you can solve.

It's sensitive.

It involves your friend.

Sheikh Shaaker's daughter.
Jamila?

Look, I'm sorry,
but others have noticed.

They came to me.

They're uncomfortable.

He can't swim so close to the girls.
Oh, come on.

Yusuf is on the spectrum.

He's...

You know that. He's...

He's just being friendly.

It's innocent.
It's totally innocent.

You must have known
this was going to come.

What, you agree with them?

It has to happen for his sake.

For Yusuf's sake.

The world will not let you
stand by his side forever.

Uh, no. No, no. YOU'RE the one
who's not letting me.

Aqil can take him to the pool.

I...

I thought you were my friend.

Habibi, I am.

This isn't about me.

No? It's not?

Get out.

Come on.
No, no, no.

If you're comfortable telling me
how to raise my own son,

I'm comfortable telling you to get
the f*ck out of my house.

Get out.

If you had a child,
you would know better.

Baba?

Yes?

I'm not doing the IVF.
I told Bilal.

I have been considering things.

I want to announce the school
to our community.

Is that wise?

I thought I was...

You seem to be doing a lot
of personal interpretations lately.

It's how I see my worship, Baba.

I'm your father and your sheikh.

You will support the school
the way I want it.

Otherwise, you are free to return
to Iraq to your husband.

Daddy will make sure you have
enough space in there, OK?

Just hold on to him.

He doesn't need to hold on to me.

He's a big boy, right?

[MAN SINGS]
Just take it.

[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
[SINGING CONTINUES]

[SIGHS]

HIND: Yeah. That's OK.

OK. Thank you. Bye.

What?

They want me to come in for
an interview to talk about my photos.

I made it past the first round.
[LAUGHS]

No way!

Oh...

No-one saw that, yeah?

[MAN SINGING]

[CONGREGATION CHANT IN ARABIC]

Salaam alaikum.

ALL: Alaikum salaam.

In this house of worship,

I feel at home.

I feel Allah's love to us
and our love to him.

There has been times in my life
I felt lost.

Far from home.

We all must have.

When disappointed with our friends
or ourselves...

...we reflect on our choices.

In the darkest moments,
we must return to our faith.

That is our duty as Muslims.

Doing so is what brings us home.

We all hold duties to one another.

Children to parents
and parents to children.

Wives to husbands,
husbands to wives.

Allah's message is clear.

Once married,
we are to build a family

so that our larger family blossoms.

When an elder provides guidance, listen.

The new place for our community
to gather will provide such guidance.

I'm delighted to announce

that the Messenger is submitting
an application for a school.

Our very own school.

[SPEAKS ARABIC]

[MEN RESPOND IN ARABIC]

[WOMEN MURMUR]

It's like the pit lane around here.
Looking for your shoes?

Oh, there they are,
right next to mine.

Here you go, buddy boy.

Yusuf.

Davi, my son can get his own shoes.

Yeah, it's just
a little crowded here, that's all.

And he needs to learn
to deal with that,

not just expect help all the time.

I was watching him.
OK. Aqil...

I heard about what happened
with Yusuf in the pool,

and I know you've been busy at work,
and he loves to go swimming.

I do too. I'm going tomorrow
to the pool.

I thought maybe he could come
with me, if that's OK.

That's... that's kind of you, brother.

But I'm his father.

No matter how much you want my wife.

[SPEAKS ARABIC]

The journalist is here.

My father will be with us
in a moment.

Oh, that's OK.
I've actually got questions for you.

Um... Can we do it in there?

OK.

The sheikh's decision
to appoint you...

...that was controversial.

Why did he do it?

I think my father must answer that.

But he WAS following religion?
Of course.

It's just that some in the community
say that he took artistic licence,

and that it's not the first time.

Not every aspect of modern life
is covered by the Quran explicitly.

Can you expand on that?

Sheikhs and parents,
they... they provide guidance, yes,

but at night,
in the final assessment,

the decision must be one's own.

Sheikh Al-Hamedi.

Leila.

Forgive me
if I don't kiss you hello.

[LAUGHS]

Has the interrogation begun
without me?

As the hadith says,

a father gives his child nothing
but a good education.

Shall we get started?
Yes, please.

[WOMEN ULULATE]

It's getting cold
and he's been on that call for ages.

Who's he talking to?

OK. Bye.

How could you?

It will undermine everything
we are working for.

It's permissible.
Don't!

Why would you ask your husband
to take a second wife, hmm?

Bilal wants to marry someone else.

b*stard!

It's my choice.

I'm doing whatever it takes
to give him his dream,

and Allah will not judge me
for that.

BATUL: You're going to tell me
what you have done right now.

Why can't you just accept

that Dad doesn't trust you
as his adviser anymore?

I reckon it looks like
a flannel flower.

You know what a flannel flower is?

I'm asking you for your blessing.
Timing's a little off, yeah?

Hajj is not only a mental
but a physical challenge.

The heat, the travel.

From today on,

no football.

[MURMURING]

No entertainment.

Dad. How soon can you come home?